Osun State Government has dismissed claims that Iwo General Hospital lacked medical personnel.
Henzodaily reports that the Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Adeleke on Public Health, Dr. Akindele Adekunle, stated this on Friday.
Adekunle explained that two doctors and two nurses were posted to the general hospital and have been delivering quality healthcare in the hospital.
The Governor’s Pubilc Health Adviser said the allegation by an advocacy group, THURIST-Nigeria, on the hospital’s manpower was false.
“As a matter of routine, a doctor who has been providing medical service in the hospital for years was recently transferred out, and as a replacement, two doctors were deployed to Iwo General Hospital. One of the two hospital doctors moved to Iwo General Hospital is a Level-17 officer with deep experience in medical service delivery, which underscores the importance that this administration attached to the hospital.
“Similarly, two nurses were transferred out of Iwo General Hospital, and were as well immediately replaced. We have to emphasize that transfer of personnel is a usual occurrence in every government set up as it is a mean to ensure that the people get the services for which are paid for from the state’s purse,” he said.
While noting the impact of doctors’ migration to Western countries as affecting the state’s health sector, Adekunle noted that the State Government was leveraging President Bola Tinubu’s extension of doctors’ retirement age to close the shortage of personnel gap.
“It is important to note the significant challenge posed by the increasing migration of medical personnel from Nigeria to overseas, which explains why President Bola Tinubu recently signed a law extending the retirement age of medical personnel by five more years to enable the country, Osun inclusive, to utilize the available human resources in the health sector to deliver the health needs of the people.
“Notwithstanding this reality, Osun state is exploring the option of replacing some personnel on a need basis. This is an ongoing effort and we want to assure the public that it will draw more human capitals for the delivery of healthcare services,” he stated.
Governor Adeleke’s Aide added that the Governor has approved an infrastructural upgrade of all secondary health facilities in the state.
He reiterated the Governor’s commitment to providing quality healthcare for residents and indigenes of the state.
“In continuation of ongoing efforts to improve the infrastructures of our healthcare facilities, I am pleased to inform the public, particularly Osun people, that Governor Ademola Adeleke has approved the total overhauling of the physical infrastructures of secondary health facility, of which Iwo General Hospital, is among.
“Just as was done with the PHCs, Iwo General Hospital and others will be rehabilitated, upscaling not just the infrastructure to modern standards but also equipping them with some state-of-the-art tools to aid effective healthcare delivery. Bill of quantities (BOQ) and other professional assessments had been undertaken and in a matter of a few weeks, work will commence at the various secondary facilities scheduled for rehabilitation.
“This goes to show the efforts that this administration is putting in place to deliver qualitative healthcare and we urge the public to bear with us. The rot inherited by this administration in the health sector is enormous and gradually, we’re taking pragmatic steps to resolve them and ensure that the healthcare needs of the people are met,” he concluded.